it is one of the greatest titles in the sport, but not as big as a football world champion or 100 m world record holder
What do you mean by "this title"... there are still many individuals who support the Heavyweight title claim of WBC champion Vitali.
Not close. Most people probably couldn't name the heavyweight champ other than 'the big russian guy?'.
The heavyweight title is curently somwhere between morris dancing and competitive eating in terms of public recognition!
No. We now have the black race, eastern europe and north Asia entitled to it. The "World" title has lost its meaning.
Lol. It used to be back when you knew who the big boss was. If you asked somebody in the 60's who was the heavyweight champ they'd say Muhammad Ali or Sonny Liston. Now, a random person off the street either wouldn't be able to identify who really was the champion, and if they did it would probably come out as "Oh yeah, the 7 foot tall Russian brother. Or was it that English black guy?" You see? You've got Holyfield, the Klitschko brothers, and before the second of July, Haye!? There's too many belts. There should be one champion per weight class, and the #1 contender becomes the mandatory by defeating the #2 contender, etc. EDIT: And as for the topic title, no, the heavyweight belt isn't the greatest sporting title. It used to be though. The heavyweight champ back in say, the 1900's - 1980's was the man. He was the boss. The biggest, meanest, strongest man on the planet. You didn't **** with him. He was a bad ass. Guys like Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Jefferies, Johnson, Holmes, Tyson, Liston, etc.
I reckon that Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis would still feature in a fair share of answers.